[Agvisors] Science Communication Course SCI401/501

[Geary, Kristen D - (kgeary)]

Greetings Advisors!
Please let your students know we still have seats in SCI 401/501 this semester. Flyer is attached.

Course Overview:
Are you fascinated by science? Do you like talking about it? Do you enjoy learning about a wide variety of sciences or disciplines and keeping up with what's hot? Ever thought about being an armchair scientist and getting paid for it? This course will introduce you to the world of science communication, the art of translating complex science for non-technical audiences. Recognizing current trends in academic employment opportunities and the media landscape, the class aims to serve as an introduction and starting point for students who are either looking to communicate their own research more effectively to non-scientists or are interested in exploring alternative career paths such as public information officers (PIOs), institutional science writers or science journalists. After taking this course, students will have a solid understanding of the expectations media have when covering science stories. The course will also explore some general, larger picture issues in science communication, the portrayal of science in the media, etc. At the end of the course, participants should be able to publish their work in various outlets, depending on their individual interests and aspirations, e.g. UANews, campus publications, department websites, blogs or social media.

Course Objectives: What can you learn in this class?
•             Understand the differences between a journalist and a public information officer
•             Present your own research to members of the public, media or peers in ways that are engaging and relevant to them
•             Be able to present scientific research and advancements in a way that entices journalists and bloggers to cover it
•             Present abstract, highly complex research in ways that are engaging to non-scientists
•             Have usable knowledge on how to identify credible sources and be able to assess a source's credibility
•             Apply language and communication skills to present science as a story
•             Shoot, edit and process high-quality photographs to enhance the visual appeal of a science story
•             Comfortably conduct and participate in media interviews
•             Get a feel for what makes a science story interesting to a general audience
•             Work with scientists on promoting a scientific publication from identifying the newsworthy angle all the way to guiding the scientist in talking to journalists
•             Be familiar with the basic rules of Associated Press style

Daniel Stolte, Science Writer, is teaching the class this spring: and you may contact him with questions.

Daniel Stolte
University Relations, Communications
The University of Arizona
520-626-4402
stolte at email.arizona.edu<mailto:stolte at email.arizona.edu>
UANews.org


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